Chelsea held 0-0 by Norwich as Torres misses sitting duck

Chelsea blew the chance to close the gap on the Premier League pace-setters as they were held to a goalless draw away at Norwich on Saturday. The result means the Blues remain in fourth spot, five points behind third place Tottenham and five points clear of Arsenal, who face Manchester City and Manchester United respectively on Sunday afternoon.

It was another slipshod performance from Chelsea striker Fernando Torres – now without a goal in 16 games – who spurned the best opportunity of the match when he fired wide from ten yards.

But if Torres was the Chelsea villain, the hero for the hosts was keeper John Ruddy, who pulled off a string of outstanding saves in the second half to ensure Norwich shared the spoils.

“We were punished for our lack of efficiency to find the back of the net,” Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admitted later. “The first half was split but in the second half we were totally dominant. We created a lot of opportunities but couldn't find the back of the net.”

As for Torres, Villas-Boas did his best to defend the out-of-sorts striker, saying: “He had a good couple of chances, and for you to have chances you have to position yourself to have those good chances and he was there present. With a little bit more luck he will find the back of the net.”

While it finished scoreless at Carrow Road there was a torrent of goals at Craven Cottage as Fulham pulled off an incredible 5-2 win at home to Newcastle. Sixth before the start of the match, the Magpies actually took the lead on 43 minutes through Danny Guthrie’s rasping shot. But Fulham ran amok in the second half, levelling through Danny Murphy’s penalty on 52 minutes and taking the lead seven minutes later when Clint Dempsey pounced after Bobby Zamora’s shot had been parried by Tim Krul.

Dempsey scored his second and Fulham’s third on 65 minutes and Zamora made it 4-1 three minutes later after Krul had felled Andy Johnson. Ben Arfa pulled one back for Newcastle on 85 minutes but Dempsey had the last word a minute from time when he buried Johnson’s pass past Krul for an impressive hat-trick – the first by an American in the Premier League.

“We never found our rhythm in the first half but we began to get into their penalty area in the second half,” Dempsey said later. “Luckily the ball kept going in. We never took our foot off the gas and we took our chances.”

Liverpool’s hopes of challenging for Champions League qualification suffered a setback as they lost 3-1 away at Bolton. The Trotters were one up after just four minutes thanks to Mark Davies and further goals from Nigel Reo-Coker and Gretar Steinsson secured a win that lifts them out of the relegation zone. Liverpool, for whom Craig Bellamy scored a consolation goal, lie in seventh spot.

Blackburn’s beleaguered manager Steve Kean eased the pressure slightly as his side battled for a valuable point away at Everton. Tim Cahill gave the hosts the lead on 24 minutes but David Goodwillie equalised for Blackburn late on. “We've kept our record of scoring in every away game,” said Kean later. “I think we shaded it so I'm a bit disappointed, but it's a good point and we'll take it.”

The point moves Blackburn above Wolves, who lost 3-2 at home to Aston Villa for whom Robbie Keane was the hero. The Republic of Ireland striker, on loan from LA Galaxy, scored twice in the second half as Villa moved up to eleventh in the league. Also on the wrong end of a result were Wigan, who lost 3-1 away at QPR, a defeat that keeps the Latics pinned to the bottom of the table.

Elsewhere a goal in injury time from Graham Dorrans gave West Bromwich Albion a 2-1 win away at Stoke, while goals from Stephane Sessegnon and Craig Gardner were enough to see Sunderland home against visitors  Swansea and end the Welsh club’s four-match unbeaten run. ·